Sunday, September 29, 2013

My
long awaited journey to the tiger heartland of India was taking final shape.
The process of gathering information and names of useful contacts from my fellow
naturalists and birders on the best ways to explore Nagzira was so exciting, that
I could not wait to be at Nagzira, to see the Jungle and its drama unfold
before my senses.

I am using word “senses” instead of “eyes” as,
in the Jungles, far away from urban cacophony gives one an opportunity to use
all the senses. The rustles of branches and leaves, the crackle of dry leaves,
makes you pause and try decipher the cause of it. Is it caused by a Jungle fowl
moving behind the bushes or did a Wild boar just roll over while sleeping in a
shade or was it just the wind doing as usual. The heady whiff of the blossoming
Mahua flowers intermingle with the rancid stench of a rotting carcass adding
further to the mystery of the Jungle. In the jungle if you sense a creature
crawling besides you, you should react differently than you normally would. Most
of the times it is best to avoid sudden reactions unless you can see the creature.
The various edible berries and flowers have been assigned different properties,
from healing to rejuvenation all as per the local lore.

With
all these anticipations I boarded the train from Nagpur to Bhandara which is
around an hour’s route for a fast train. Again benevolent Indian Railways was
the reason behind a swift and economical journey.

I
reached Bhandara station at around 1 AM in the night. Nagzira is about 40 KMs
from Bhandara, so I decided to take a Nap at Bhandara railway station before
leaving for Nagzira. I left for Nagzira at around 3:30 AM in night. Asking directions
to reach the highway was not easy as the entire city was deserted during the
night and I had to request a Police patrol vehicle to guide me to the highway.

Once
on the highway I was alert for signs of any movement of Owls or other mammals
crossing my way. As soon as I reached the cross road to Nagzira and took a left
turn, the entire landscape changed so rapidly that I was caught unawares, and as
an alert herd of spotted deer raised an alarm call after my vehicle crossing, I
realized that I should keep my camera ready as during this time Jungle folks can
turn up unannounced and surprise you.

The
fact that there was no traffic during the night hours on these roads there was
a high probability of coming across Indian nightjars sitting on the road, and I
was right in my anticipation as came across t a Nightjar sitting right in
middle of the road.

Sighting
the Nightjar is one thing, but leaving the relative safety of car at around
4:30 AM alone, in darkness of the jungle is a different scenario. Though we
descend from the cave man with all the related wildness, we of the present day
are essentially the children of day light. As the daylight fades and night
takes away from us the sense of sight, which we are totally dependent on, we
are at the mercy of our imagination.

The
mind given the right settings can play strange tricks. it was with extreme
caution that I had a look all around for
any signs or unusual movements or even
the glitter of nocturnal eyes. Satisfied at my precautions I gathered my
courage and stepped out of my car. I kept the engine running and headlights on
as a precaution. As I stepped out and carried out my usual surveillance rituals
and being satisfied I approached the
resting spot of the Nightjar. Enveloped by darkness with Night jar in focus I
took a few shots quickly and jumped back into my car before my imagined fears
turned into reality.

Indian Nightjar on the road at 4:30 AM in the morning

I
drove at a slow pace till I reached the Nagzira village anticipating some more sightings,
however nothing came my way. As I reached I called up my tour guide/ driver Rajesh,
who promptly arrived by 5:30 AM as the gate to the sanctuary opens at 6 AM. The
process of getting in to sanctuary is very simple, there are 2 routes; Route A
and Route B. Route B is considered to be more fruitful as it has more tiger
sightings. Till 6 AM forms were given of route A, and as I was getting restless, I told Rajesh that I
was not specifically there for only tiger sightings but more in Birds and
wildlife as a whole. Rajesh wanted us to wait for Route B forms to start. After
a lot of push from my restless self Rajesh went along with me to the form
counter. I deposited the money along with details required and form was stamped
and given back to me with “Route B”. I was happy as I was allowed to go in to
sanctuary irrespective of the route and Rajesh was happier as he got his
desired “route B”, a win –win for both.

It
is mandatory to appoint an approved guide to accompany one into the forest. I
informed the guide that rather than tiger sightings I would be more interested
in birds and would also be very happy if he could help me trace Dholes of
Nagzira. To my request he informed me that Dholes are difficult to trace as
they are crepuscular and being the peak of summer hardly venture out except for
hunting for food.

The
gradual appearance of light in the east, a precursor to the awakening of the
jungle with the accompanying crowing of the perennial early riser, the Grey
Jungle fowl, awakening all and sundry from their slumber and encouraging them
to join ,in welcoming the new day. Conversely it was the time for the Indian
Scoops owl to come back to its tree hole and sign off for the rest of the day.
Just as my Jeep passed by the tree the scratch marks near the tree hole
confirmed the landing of the Owl confirming the presence of the owl. The Indian
scoops owl is so very well camouflaged that to an untrained eye it would appear
as a part of the tree trunk only. This is a nocturnal bird, which spends most
of the day time lurking in some dark corner of the dense foliage standing
upright and motionless, to all
appearance the extension of its perch. The disguise is further enhanced if it
is in its tree hole, since the colour and texture of face matches exactly with that
of the tree It is the most vocal bird in the Jungle during night time with
calls of ‘wut ...wut...wut’ ...pronounced at 5 second intervals. It was my
first sighting of this bird, since previously I could identify its call but couldn’t
spot it.

Indian Scops Owl

As
we ventured further into the jungle a herd of spotted deer was having its
morning sip of water at the artificial water body. Not too far away from them a
Neelgai in its prime was evaluating us as a potential threat. We continued our
drive through the serpentine roads of the forest. Our drive took us to an
extremely shady patch of the forest with very tall trees all around. We sighted
Lesser flame backed Woodpeckers moving
from one tree to other when all of a sudden I saw a Rufous woodpecker in the
party, which was an extremely pleasing as it is a rarity even in the best of the
forests. As we reached the first beat house for reporting, as my Guide and
Rajesh went inside for necessary reporting; all of a sudden a Changeable Hawk
Eagle swooped in and alighted over a barren tree over the beat house. I was
overjoyed since just an hour into the exploration and the Jungle had already offered
so much. As we left the beat house, Rajesh suggested that we should take the route
which had a high chance of Tiger sighting, adding at the same time that we may
also come across raptors on the route.

A Lesser Golden Flame backed Woodpecker

Rufous Woodpecker

Changeable Hawk Eagle

As we were negotiating a steep slant I
suddenly observed a raptor sitting on a tree just above our head this was a
juvenile Shikra sitting pretty in the morning sunlight. Luckily for us the
Shikra didn’t get spooked and gave us good number of picture perfect shots.
Just a few meters away a racket tailed Drongo was playing its role as the
guardian of the woods. A group of Yellow footed pigeons and an Orange headed
thrush were the beneficiaries of the protection offered by the Racket Tailed
Drongo. To bird lovers the Racket Tailed Drongo is a bird which is a never
ending source of pleasure and interest, for in addition to being most
courageous of birds in our jungle, he can imitate to perfection the calls of
most of the birds and one animal, the Cheetal.

Shikra

Greater Racket Tailed Drongo

Further
into the drive, metallic calls of the Rufuos Treepie and piercing calls of the
Hawk Cuckoo were becoming clearer and all of a sudden a Changeable Hawk Eagle
flew over our head. As we reached another man made and man filled water body
the calls of Treepies and hawk cuckoo became louder. A Rufous treepie couple
were having their usual bit of domestic communication and it was very evident
from the pitch of one and the silence of the other who was male and who was
female.

Changeable Hawk Eagle- Flight

Hawk Cuckoo

Rufous Treepie Pair

Langur Family

Just
nearby a troop of Langurs were sitting, with the females holding the new born
close to them. The extent of heat of the season was evident from the fact that
every Langur was sitting in the shade of the tree and it was not even 8 AM in
the morning. As we moved ahead towards a
nullah which was heavily covered with Lantana bushes, we saw imprints of pug
marks of a male tiger. Alarm calls of spotted deer and Langur’s nearby
confirmed the presence of the king of predators. It was just 8 O’ Clock in the
morning but the heat was already stifling and it felt like 2 in the noon. Taking a cue from the heat we started
carefully looking in to Lantana bushes since the big cats would be lurking
among them We were maintaining utmost silence as a surprised tiger can be a
very injurious idea. Suddenly our guide pointed us to a white patch deep in the
Lantana bushes, and lo behold it was a tiger sleeping in the bushes. We quietly
waited for more than half an hour for carefully awaiting the awakening the Tiger
but to no avail, indeed it was deep asleep in all its languorous glory.

Sleeping Giant- Tiger taking a nap

A tiger’s
life is not an easy one. With so many vigilant eyes and ears around tracking
its every movement it is extremely difficult for it to hunt in broad daylight.
Birds like the Lapwing and the peacock raise alarms even if the tiger changes
its stance. Mammals like the langur and the spotted dear act as public
announcers for the Jungle folks warning all and sundry of the presence of the King
of the jungle. An alarm call of the pattern “Kheech-kheech” of a langur still
remains one of the best methods of tracking a tiger, but after this call normally
we stop watching the langur and shift focus to the tigers around. What we miss
is the meticulous method attached to this calling. Whenever any langur
irrespective of age/ sex and status in the troop observes a tiger or any other
predator it starts the alarm call, the leader of the troop gets warned by this
call and after the visual confirmation of the tiger/ predator, takes up the
mantle of raising the formal alarm call ,post which the initiator stops its call. But for me charisma of tiger lies in the fact that it still manages
to keep a low profile and with its predatory instincts survives and
successfully keeps on hunting in its own solitary grace.

Two
hours in to the trip and I was overwhelmed by the call of the wild emanating
from the heart of the dense Nagzira jungle. . As our jeep moved crossed other
topographies we heard the piercing call
of the Crested Serpent Eagle. One of the
most vocal members of Eagle family the Crested Serpent Eagle, while still a
mere speck in the blue sky is capable of sending its piercing cry back on to
earth. High in the heavens above the CSE was circling and screaming with
increasing frequency. As we moved ahead, a Sambhar walked across the road and daintily
hid a tree. The camouflage of the Sambhar Deer alongside the dry forest worked
so well and it raised a point in my head. , often when we go on a wildlife trip we talk
about most popular species like lions, tigers, and leopards or we talk about a
little lesser popular species like crocodiles, snakes, etc. But, we hardly
share information about Herbivores like, Sambhar, Cheetal etc. Is it because
they exist in large numbers or is it because they do not produce action
oriented, fascinating shots for us? Or, is it because we do not
know much about them? These deer are equally beautiful animals, though not
powerful. They too possess wild skills to survive in the jungle like
camouflaging, living in herds or groups, sharp eyesight, signalling during any
external threats etc. and they use these techniques to increase their chances
of survival against all odds. When in danger, they run in groups. They make
bursts of high-speed running and then soon tire and dive into heavy cover to
hide. These herbivores are exemplary and perhaps more suited to their environs
and this is the precise reason they are in more abundance than the animals
above them in the food chain.

A Sambhar Deer- Camouflage

A few upward sharp turns and we reached in a patch of forest where temperature was considerably low and bamboo grass were all around and very soon we were at a lake besides the Nilayam forest bungalow. Rajesh told me that a crested serpent Eagle and a Grey Headed Fish Eagle are residents of this lake, on hearing name of Grey Headed Fish Eagle, I turned my head towards Rajesh and asked him again, are you sure it Grey Headed Fish Eagle? Rajesh said sir, wait it will be in front of us shortly. And as a pair of crested serpent Eagle made a display of fist fight with claws mid air all of a sudden a big raptor landed on a tree on the opposite bank. Looking closely I found out that Rajesh was damn right and it was a majestic Grey Headed fish Eagle sitting right in front of me, caressing its wings with its beak.

Grey Headed Fish Eagle

This was it…Rajesh told me that we should start heading back to reach at the gate within prescribed time limit. We started heading back and reached the exit gate in time. Nagzira in first 4 hours fulfiiled its promise for natural amusement to the fullest.

I reached my rest house and took a bath before heading for food. As I reached out on my balcony for drying my clothes I saw a white bellied drongo sitting nearby in tree and panting. Many of us don’t know but Birds also do Panting just like dogs. It’s a bird's way to stay cool. It was so hot in Nagzira that I observed this White bellied Drongo Panting for a very long time. I sprinkled my drinking water on a nearby patch on ground and as soon as I did this, Mr. Drongo gratified me with an up close picture.

White Bellied Drongo- Panting

After a bit of rest, I headed to take my lunch. My lunch was
arranged in a small hut opposite to the gate of the sanctuary, as I sat and
started having my lunch, I saw a leopard crossing the pathway inside the
sanctuary gate and getting vanished in to the bushes. In just a few hours the
call of wild of Nagzira managed to mesmerize me to the fullest. Smiling I went
back to my room wondering what else can come my way in the second session?